Supported Hardware and Software, and Support Policies for Cisco Unity Release 5.x

Revised April 23, 2010

This document lists hardware and software that are supported for use with a Cisco Unity system running version 5.x, and Cisco Unity support policies regarding hardware and software. It is divided into four parts:

Support for Windows 2000 on Servers Without a Windows 2000 Platform Configuration Disc

Revised October 30, 2008

Cisco provides Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Platform Configuration discs for every currently shipping server qualified for use with Cisco Unity, but provides Windows 2000 Server Platform Configuration discs only for selected servers. You can install Windows 2000 Server on servers for which no Platform Configuration discs exist, but you must use a retail Windows disc and the hardware drivers provided by the server manufacturer.

If an issue is found to be related to the hardware drivers provided by the manufacturer, Cisco will evaluate the problem, and, as appropriate, issue a field notice, post an update, or direct the customer to updates on the vendor's website.

Cisco encourages customers to contact the hardware supplier for best practices regarding maintenance of their hardware and to apply standard driver updates that are minor in scope and risk, as appropriate. When the updates have been formally released by the hardware manufacturer, Cisco will support Cisco Unity running on servers on which the updates have been applied.

Phone configuration files (.ini files) for recently qualified phone system integrations that are not yet available on Cisco Unity discs can be downloaded from the Other Cisco Unity Components Software Download page at http://www.cisco.com/cgi-bin/tablebuild.pl/unity.

Supported IP Phone System Integrations

•Cisco Unified CM

•Cisco Unified CM Express

•Cisco SIP Proxy Server

In addition, the Cisco Unified CM integrations support the use of Survivable Remote Site Telephony (SRST) installed on Cisco IOS platforms at remote sites.

For the supported versions of Cisco Unified CM and Cisco Unified CM Express, refer to the applicable document, depending on the integration type:

Other Supported Phone System Integrations

Caution If Windows Server 2003 is installed on the Cisco Unity server, voice cards and Dialogic software will not function correctly. Consequently, circuit-switched phone system integrations that use voice cards are not supported for use with a Cisco Unity server on which Windows Server 2003 is installed. Note, however, that IP integrations (Cisco Unified CM and SIP) and PIMG integrations are supported for use with a Cisco Unity server on which Windows Server 2003 is installed.

Supported Voice Cards

We recommend using the newer Universal (3.3Vdc or 5Vdc dual voltage) PCI versions of the Intel Dialogic D/120JCT-LS and the D/120JCT-Euro cards, rather than the older single-bus voltage (5Vdc) versions of the cards.

Note that older (Revision 1) LS and LS-Euro cards are still supported for use with Cisco Unity versions 5.0 and later, but they cannot be ordered for new Cisco Unity 5.0 or later installations. In addition, the older LS cards can be used only when they are appropriate for the available slots in the Cisco Unity server or expansion chassis.

Caution You cannot use the D/120JCT-Euro Rev. 2 card with any other voice card except the D/120JCT-Euro Rev. 1 card. In particular, you cannot use the Rev. 2 card with the D/41JCT-Euro.

D/41E-PCI and D/240PCI-T1 cards currently in use are still supported for use with Cisco Unity versions 5.0 and later. However, the cards cannot be ordered for a new system or as replacement cards for an existing system. For additional information, refer to End-of-Sale and End-of-Life Announcement for the 4-Port Analog Conventional PCI and T1 Voice Integration Cards for Cisco Unity Software at http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/sw/voicesw/ps2237/prod_eol_notices_list.html.

When two or more cards are being installed, the cards must be connected by using an H.100 cable.

ISA voice cards are not supported, either for a new Cisco Unity 5.0 or later system or for an upgrade to Cisco Unity 5.0 or later.

Caution If Windows Server 2003 is installed on the Cisco Unity server, voice cards and voice card software will not function correctly. Consequently, circuit-switched phone system integrations that use voice cards are not supported for use with a Cisco Unity server on which Windows Server 2003 is installed. Note, however, that IP integrations (Cisco Unified CM and SIP) and PIMG integrations are supported for use with a Cisco Unity server on which Windows Server 2003 is installed. The list of phone systems supported for PIMG integrations is revised as new phone systems are qualified.

1The SKU, or stock-keeping unit, is the product identifier that Intel Dialogic assigned to the voice card. If you order the voice card from Intel Dialogic, you can use the SKU to ensure that you are ordering the correct version.

2For specific country or region applicability questions, contact Cisco prior to order placement.

3Do not combine both D/120JCT-Euro (Rev 2) voice cards and D/41JCT-Euro voice cards in the Cisco Unity server. When both types of voice cards are in the same Cisco Unity server, they will not function correctly.

Supported Phone Models for Use with Cisco Unity Phone View

Revised June 2, 2008

For both SIP and SCCP phones, the following Cisco Unified IP Phone models are supported: 7941G, 7941G-GE, 7961G, 7961G-GE, 7970G, and 7971G-GE. In addition, the following Cisco Unified IP Phone models are supported with phone load 8-3-4SR1 or later: 7942G, 7945G, 7962G, 7965G, and 7975G.

For SCCP phones, 7940G and 7960G models are also supported.

If a user experiences problems using Phone View on a phone model that is not listed, the feature should be disabled for that user.

Phone View does not work with the following phones: 7902G, 7905G, 7910G, 7910G+SW, 7912G, 7920, and Cisco IP Communicator.

Supported Optional Hardware

The following optional hardware is supported for use with Cisco Unity 5.0 and later:

•Tape drives for system backup.

•A tape autoloader may also be attached to a Cisco Unity server, although network backup to a dedicated backup server is recommended for high-capacity backup and recovery scenarios.

•Uninterrupted power supply (UPS) connected to a Cisco Unity server by a serial cable.

•Directly connected chaining of additional mass storage onto a RAID channel or channels hosted via a SCSI controller. Note that Cisco TAC is unable to assist with this hardware setup or with problems related to this storage configuration. Consult with the server vendor for any issues related to this configuration.

•Two or more NICs for fault tolerance, sharing the same IP address (active-passive configuration).

•Use of gigabit Ethernet is recommended on the Cisco Unity server for general connectivity, and in particular for the heartbeat link between Cisco Unity failover nodes, but it is not required.

The following out-of-band management cards are supported for use with Cisco Unity 5.0 and later:

Unsupported Hardware

Hardware that has not been qualified for use with Cisco Unity is not supported for use on or connected to a Cisco Unity server. Cisco TAC will ask that it be removed, disconnected, or disabled during troubleshooting.

•Storage Area Networking (remote data storage connectivity through frame or packet switch fabrics or networks, such as Fibre Channel, InfiniBand, or IP packetization). Installation or relocation of Cisco Unity software, required Microsoft components, and/or the associated log files, onto disks other than the physical disks that are a part of a Cisco Unity server is not supported.

•Multiple IP addresses for two or more load-balanced NICs (active-active configuration). Note that active-passive NIC configuration is supported.

Caution Some third-party software that is qualified for use with Cisco Unity may not be qualified for use with Windows Server 2003. Refer to the manufacturer documentation for more information.

Supported Antivirus Software

The following antivirus software has been qualified by Cisco for use with Cisco Unity 5.0 and later:

•Computer Associates InoculateIT for Microsoft Windows.

•McAfee

–ePolicy Orchestrator. The ePolicy Orchestrator agent is supported for use on the Cisco Unity server only when it is configured to accept updates rather than acting as the source for pushing updates to other computers.

Supported Fax Server Software

Table 4 lists fax servers supported for use with Cisco Unity 5.0 and later, when installed with an Exchange or Domino gateway.

Install the fax cards, fax server software, and dedicated fax lines on the fax server. Installing fax software on the Cisco Unity server is not supported. Refer to the fax server documentation for a list of supported cards and integration methods.

Fax servers supported for use with Cisco Unity 5.0 and later—when installed with an Exchange gateway and using the TIFF-F file format with images encoded so that there is only one image strip per facsimile page—are also supported for use with VPIM.

Table 4 Supported Fax Server Software for Use with Cisco Unity

Fax Server

Microsoft
Exchange

IBM Lotus
Domino

VPIM

Biscom FAXCOM for Microsoft Exchange,version 6.19 and later

Yes

No

Yes

Captaris RightFax

Yes (version 6.0 and later)

Yes (version 8.0.0120 and later)

Yes (version 6.0 and later)

Chori-Joho LightningFAX,version 5.5 R48 and later

No

Yes

Yes

Cisco Fax Server

Yes

Yes

Yes

Esker Faxgate, version 7 and later

Yes

No

Yes

Fenestrae Faxination, version 4 and later

Yes

No

Yes

Interstar Technologies LightningFAX, version 5.5 and later

Yes

No

Yes

Omtool Fax Sr., version 3 and later

Yes

No

Yes

Optus FACSys, version 4.5 and later

Yes

No

Yes

Sagem Interstar XMediusFAX,version 4.0 and later

Yes

No

Yes

TOPCALL, all versions

Yes

No

Yes

Supported Monitoring Software

The following monitoring software has been qualified by Cisco for use with Cisco Unity 5.0 and later:

Support Policy for AMIS Voice Messaging Systems

Cisco Unity 5.0 and later with Microsoft Exchange and Cisco Unity 5.0 and later with IBM Lotus Domino support version 1 of the Audio Messaging Interchange Specification analog (AMIS-a) protocol, which allows subscribers to exchange voice messages with other voice messaging systems.

Cisco support policy is that customers can use AMIS Networking to exchange voice messages between Cisco Unity and a third-party voice messaging system provided that the third-party system complies with the AMIS-a version 1 protocol.

Support Policy for Antivirus Software

Cisco support policy is that customers can deploy third-party antivirus software on the Cisco Unity server. However, Cisco expects that customers (or their systems integration partners) will have tested the interoperability of such products with Cisco Unity before the products are deployed, to mitigate the risk of problems being discovered within the production environment between Cisco Unity and the third-party products loaded on the Cisco Unity server.

If a customer calls Cisco TAC with a problem, a Cisco TAC engineer may require that such third-party software be turned off or even removed from the Cisco Unity server during the course of troubleshooting. If it is determined that the interoperability between the third-party software and Cisco Unity was the root cause of the problem, then the third-party software will be required to be disabled or removed from the Cisco Unity server until such time that the interoperability issue is addressed, so that the customer can continue to have a functional Cisco Unity system.

Before installing any qualified Microsoft service pack on the Cisco Unity server, confirm that the manufacturer of any optional third-party software or hardware that you plan to install on the Cisco Unity server—or that is already installed—also supports the service pack for use with its product.

Support Policy for Apache Tomcat Upgrades

Apache Tomcat software is automatically installed on the Cisco Unity server during the installation of the Cisco Unity software. Because the Tomcat software is customized to provide Cisco Personal Communications Assistant (PCA) functionality, downloading an updated version of Tomcat software from the Apache website and installing it on the Cisco Unity server is not supported. Doing so will cause the Cisco PCA to stop working properly. However, installing Tomcat software patches is supported.

Support Policy for Backup Software

Cisco support policy is that customers can deploy third-party software for backup on the Cisco Unity server. However, Cisco expects that customers (or their systems integration partners) will have tested the interoperability of such products with Cisco Unity before the products are deployed, to mitigate the risk of problems being discovered within the production environment between Cisco Unity and the third-party products loaded on the Cisco Unity server.

If a customer calls Cisco TAC with a problem, a Cisco TAC engineer may require that such third-party software be turned off or even removed from the Cisco Unity server during the course of troubleshooting. If it is determined that the interoperability between the third-party software and Cisco Unity was the root cause of the problem, then the third-party software will be required to be disabled or removed from the Cisco Unity server until such time that the interoperability issue is addressed, so that the customer can continue to have a functional Cisco Unity system.

Before installing any qualified Microsoft service pack on the Cisco Unity server, confirm that the manufacturer of any optional third-party software or hardware that you plan to install on the Cisco Unity server—or that is already installed—also supports the service pack for use with its product.

Support Policy for Hardware Virtualization Environments

Revised April 23, 2010

When Cisco Unity is installed in a Unified Messaging configuration, IBM Lotus Domino or Microsoft Exchange can be installed in any hardware virtualization environment supported by IBM or Microsoft, respectively. In addition, Active Directory domain controllers/global catalog servers (DC/GCs) can be installed in any hardware virtualization environment supported by Microsoft. (Cisco does not provide technical support for message-store servers or for DC/GCs.)

When Cisco Unity is installed in a Voice Messaging configuration, Domino, Exchange, and DC/GCs cannot be installed in a hardware virtualization environment.

Support Policy for IBM Lotus Domino Critical Fixpacks

All Critical Fixpacks are automatically supported.

Support Policy for Microsoft Data Execution Prevention

Added May 15, 2008

Cisco support policy is that customers can deploy Microsoft Data Execution Prevention (DEP). However, we have found, in some customer environments, that DEP prevents Cisco Unity services from starting or causes the services to shut down. If a customer calls Cisco TAC with a problem and DEP is identified as being the cause of the problem, a Cisco TAC engineer may require the customer to revise the DEP monitoring policy to exclude monitoring of all Cisco Unity services.

For information on determining the current DEP policy settings and on reconfiguring these settings, refer to Microsoft Knowledge Base articles KB875352 and KB912923. For a list of Cisco Unity services, refer to the "Cisco Unity 5.x Services" appendix in the applicable guide:

Support Policy for Microsoft Service Packs and Updates

Microsoft provides monthly updates for Windows, Exchange, SQL Server, MSDE, Internet Explorer, and IIS. These updates (known by a variety of names, including security rollup patches, security updates, critical updates, patches, and hot fixes) are limited to changes that fix specific problems. They do not include general defect fixes or new functionality. All of these Microsoft updates are qualified by Cisco from the day that Microsoft releases them. We recommend that you evaluate Microsoft updates in accordance with your server-software-maintenance policy to determine when to update the Cisco Unity server. If your company does not have a policy, we recommend that Microsoft updates be applied to the server as they are released. Cisco TAC provides support for a Cisco Unity system on which such updates have been installed.

Microsoft also occasionally releases service packs, which contain fixes generated since the general product release, including most fixes that were released as updates. Because the service pack scope is broad, each service pack must be thoroughly tested to ensure that changes do not adversely affect Cisco Unity. Cisco TAC does not support new service packs until they have been qualified for use with Cisco Unity.

Do not install a service pack that has not been qualified, or Cisco TAC will not help you resolve problems until you uninstall it.

Within 60 days of an applicable Microsoft service pack release, Cisco will announce whether the service pack can be applied to released Cisco Unity versions. If so, the new service pack becomes the recommended service pack for Cisco Unity.

Updates and service packs can be applied to other non-Cisco Unity servers such as IBM Lotus Domino or Exchange mail servers. Cisco does not require such updates and service packs to be applied to infrastructure servers and clients unless they are to resolve specifically identified problems that relate to the interactions between Cisco products and a customer's infrastructure. When applying a mail server service pack, we recommend following Microsoft's best practices of applying the service pack level to all mail servers within the organization. Client PCs and voice-mail access devices (PDAs, etc.), as well as mail servers, domain controllers, and global catalog servers may all be considered part of the customer's infrastructure.

Cisco will support—at most—two service packs of a given Microsoft component as recommended for major and minor releases of Cisco Unity. When a subsequent service pack is released, Cisco will drop support for the oldest service pack as being recommended in the next major or minor release of Cisco Unity.

When a service pack is qualified as recommended for use with Cisco Unity, it is supported for all currently supported versions of Cisco Unity, unless a specific Cisco product version is noted as being required in order to support the recommended service pack.

Support Policy for Monitoring Software

Cisco support policy is that customers can deploy third-party software for monitoring on the Cisco Unity server. However, Cisco expects that customers (or their systems integration partners) will have tested the interoperability of such products with Cisco Unity before the products are deployed, to mitigate the risk of problems being discovered within the production environment between Cisco Unity and the third-party products loaded on the Cisco Unity server.

If a customer calls Cisco TAC with a problem, a Cisco TAC engineer may require that such third-party software be turned off or even removed from the Cisco Unity server during the course of troubleshooting. If it is determined that the interoperability between the third-party software and Cisco Unity was the root cause of the problem, then the third-party software will be required to be disabled or removed from the Cisco Unity server until such time that the interoperability issue is addressed, so that the customer can continue to have a functional Cisco Unity system.

Before installing any qualified Microsoft service pack on the Cisco Unity server, confirm that the manufacturer of any optional third-party software or hardware that you plan to install on the Cisco Unity server—or that is already installed—also supports the service pack for use with its product.

Support Policy for Optional Software

Cisco support policy is that customers can deploy third-party software for backup, monitoring, and security on the Cisco Unity server. However, Cisco expects that customers (or their systems integration partners) will have tested the interoperability of such products with Cisco Unity before the products are deployed, to mitigate the risk of problems being discovered within the production environment between Cisco Unity and the third-party products loaded on the Cisco Unity server.

If a customer calls Cisco TAC with a problem, a Cisco TAC engineer may require that such third-party software be turned off or even removed from the Cisco Unity server during the course of troubleshooting. If it is determined that the interoperability between the third-party software and Cisco Unity was the root cause of the problem, then the third-party software will be required to be disabled or removed from the Cisco Unity server until such time that the interoperability issue is addressed, so that the customer can continue to have a functional Cisco Unity system.

Before installing any qualified Microsoft service pack on the Cisco Unity server, confirm that the manufacturer of any optional third-party software or hardware that you plan to install on the Cisco Unity server—or that is already installed—also supports the service pack for use with its product.

Support Policy for Storage Area Networks

Added October 15, 2008

When Cisco Unity is installed in a Unified Messaging configuration, an IBM Lotus Domino or Microsoft Exchange message store can be stored in any storage area network configuration supported by IBM or Microsoft, respectively. (Cisco does not provide technical support for message-store servers.)

When Cisco Unity is installed in a Voice Messaging configuration, neither Domino nor Exchange message stores can be stored on a storage area network.

The Cisco Unity database cannot be stored on a storage area network.

Support Policy for VPIM Voice Messaging Systems

Cisco Unity 5.0 and later with Microsoft Exchange 2000/2003 and Cisco Unity 5.0 and later with IBM Lotus Domino support Voice Profile for Internet Mail (VPIM) version 2, which allows the exchange of voice, fax, and text messages with other voice messaging systems. VPIM can also be used for messaging between Cisco Unity servers that use different directories, including messaging between Cisco Unity with Exchange and Cisco Unity with Domino systems.

The remote voice messaging system(s) with which Cisco Unity will be networked cannot be in the same Exchange organization as the Cisco Unity server.

Cisco support policy is that customers can use VPIM Networking to exchange voice messages between Cisco Unity and a third-party voice messaging system provided that the third-party system complies with the VPIM version 2 specification, as defined in Internet RFC 2421. Refer to the Open Group (opengroup.org) VPIM website for conformance statements and the RFC 2421 VPIM v2 specification.

Note For Cisco Unity with Microsoft Exchange systems, we recommend that you use the latest version of the Cisco Unity Voice Connector for Microsoft Exchange 2003 and Exchange 2000 that is supported for your version of Cisco Unity. If you call Cisco TAC with a problem related to VPIM interoperability, the Cisco TAC engineer may require that you upgrade to a newer supported version of the Voice Connector, if one is available. For the supported version combinations of the Cisco Unity VPIM bridgehead server and the Voice Connector, refer to Networking Options Requirements for Cisco Unity at http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/sw/voicesw/ps2237/prod_installation_guides_list.html.

Support Policy for Windows Automatic Update

Windows Automatic Update (WAU) is supported on a Cisco Unity 5.0 and later server when the option Notify Me Before Downloading Any Updates and Notify Me Again Before Installing Them on My Computer is selected. (Note that if Cisco Unity Platform Configuration discs Revision 12 or later are used to configure the platform for the Cisco Unity server, then WAU is disabled.)

Caution Configure WAU only to check for updates, not to install updates. Most Microsoft updates can be installed on the Cisco Unity server as soon as they become available. However, Microsoft service packs must be qualified for use with Cisco Unity, and WAU does not let you distinguish between service packs and other updates.

Most of the benefit of WAU is related to patching security vulnerabilities in Windows. If the Cisco Unity server is configured for Voice Messaging and is not connected to a network or the Internet, the server has no security vulnerabilities that updates from WAU would prevent. For the Voice Messaging configuration, Cisco strongly discourages you from connecting the Cisco Unity server to the Internet only to use WAU.

Any Internet Protocol (IP) addresses used in this document are not intended to be actual addresses. Any examples, command display output, and figures included in the document are shown for illustrative purposes only. Any use of actual IP addresses in illustrative content is unintentional and coincidental.